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That's an easy answer: No, we don't charge fees when you make a personal transfer with us.
For our business clients though, there are fees but we agree a fee structure that reflects how much business we do together. They can range from €0 to €20 per transaction

Sometimes the banks in the middle and at the end will take a charge, so it seems that not all the money has been sent but we try our best to make sure all your money gets to where it needs to by covering correspondent and receiving charges where we can.

There are fees for Online Sellers transferring funds back to domestic accounts - you can see them here.

Ensuring the safety and security of your money is central to our business. We comply fully with all relevant regulations and ensure your funds are appropriately segregated from business funds in line with requirements.

We are authorised and regulated by the FCA, and are required to hold sufficient capital to protect our business and further safeguard our customers. We maintain high levels of capital and have a 3A2 credit rating from Dun and Bradstreet. If you'd like a bank reference for us please give us a call, we'd be happy to oblige. You can find out more about where the companies under the World First Group are registered and regulated here.

You'll find full information on our security page, where you can also download our audited financial statements.

We always try to better it – we've even got a best rate guarantee (find out more here). Savings are usually from 0.25% up to 4% of the amount being transferred. We also don't charge any fees for personal transfers and we try to cover correspondent and receiving charges where we can (i.e. the charges from the banks who handle the transfer along the way).

Interbank Rate is the rate that banks and large financial institutions use to trade with each other. It is not the same as the rate they offer you. They quote you a different rate and that's where they make their money. This is known as the spread, or the margin. We make our money by taking a smaller margin than the banks do and passing that saving on to you.

Yes, you can lock in a rate now for a date up to 3 years in the future. This is often called a forward contract. You might need to pay an initial deposit and then the balance will be due at the end of the contract. If the rates move against you may need to top up the deposit. Your dealer will explain and discuss this with you before you book your forward. This can be ideal if you want to know exactly how much you'll get when you come to make your transfer.

You can log into your online account and transfer your balance(s) into a beneficiary account denominated in a major currency at any time of the day. Please make sure you have added details of the beneficiary account on WFO before you make a transfer. You can see how to enter these details in the answer to the question "How do I enter my bank details for my home account?" below.

Log in to your online account and click on 'create a new beneficiary' and follow the steps to add your beneficiary account. These details will come through to us to verify. Please note that we cannot pay to third parties - the account must be held in the same name as the World First account. If you are unsure on any of your bank details please check them with your bank.

This mainly depends on the beneficiary bank – in most cases, funds will be sent by World First on the same day that you execute a transfer on World First Online, depending on the currency we are sending, and will often credit UK, US or European accounts same or next day. For same day payment your money need to be with us by this time: EUR payments: 14:00, GBP payments: 15:00 and USD payments: 15:00. The payment (or “value”) date will be clearly shown on World First Online before you confirm any transfers and in the accompanying trade confirmation email. World First will do everything reasonably possible to ensure that funds arrive on time but is not liable for delays caused by intermediary or receiving banks.

If you're unhappy with any aspect of your transaction with us, please contact your relationship manager. We appreciate all feedback, both positive and negative, as it helps us tailor our services to your requirements. For more information on our Complaints Procedure, click here.

If your details have changed please email updates@worldfirst.com with your account number and your new information. Just so you know, if you've moved house you may need to provide proof of your new address.

This depends on a couple of things, including the currency you're sending or buying, the bank used and the size of the transaction.

If it's sterling, US dollars or euros then we'll usually make a same-day payment when we receive your funds. This will arrive fully cleared with your bank the same day though they may not credit your account until the next business day.

With other currencies, we send your payment out on the date agreed but you'll need to allow one to four days for your funds to reach the recipient. The length of time depends on the currency. For example for Swedish kroner, it will be 1 day; for East Caribbean Dollars it could be 4 days. Transfers to Australia and New Zealand will usually clear within 24 hours.

If you're sending USD to another country (not the US) then you should allow up to 4 days for it to clear.

If you need funds to arrive by a particular date please call us for advice and accurate information for the country you are sending funds to.

In rare circumstances delays may occur. World First will do everything reasonably possible to ensure that funds arrive on time but is not liable for delays caused by intermediary or receiving banks.

We are a member of SWIFT - the main system used throughout the financial world to make payments with speed, certainty and confidence. Once we've received your cleared funds we pay the account(s) on the agreed date. We'll send you confirmation in a PDF to let you know everything has gone through.

Please note that the funds will arrive in the beneficiary's account from World First, rather than your name. There will be a reference which starts with WFPAY followed by a sequence of numbers.

Debit Card: If you're a private client you can use your debit card to send us your money. This is one of the fastest ways you can pay.

Online/Telephone Banking (Faster Payment): This usually arrives with us the same day or the following morning.

BACS: A BACS payment takes two working days for funds to arrive. They will be cleared funds on the third day, which is when your payment will be able to leave World First.

Direct Debit: If you're sending us GBP funds, we can collect them by Direct Debit. Talk to us if you'd like to set one up. Once this is done, we arrange collection of the funds and it is similar to a BACS payment in terms of clearing times.

CHAPS: A CHAPS payment is a same-day payment and will arrive with us on the day you send it.

We can only send payments once your funds are with us and have cleared, so if you were to send funds to us via a slower payment method (such as a BACS, for example), your payment will take longer to leave. If you send your funds in via CHAPS or Faster Payment, your payment will leave sooner.

You can send funds to World First at any time as long as they are cleared by the date of the outgoing payment on your trade confirmation. If your funds aren't yet with us, your payment won't leave. For same day payment your money need to be with us by this time:

We'll make the payment to your beneficiary on the date we agree when you book your trade. Your beneficiary might not be able to access the money right away as their bank might take some time to clear the funds for them.

Please note that the funds will arrive in the beneficiary's account from World First, rather than your name. There will be a reference which starts with WFPAY followed by a sequence of numbers.

As we are making the payment on your behalf, the funds will arrive in your beneficiary's account from World First and not in your name. There will also be a reference which starts with WFPAY and followed by a sequence of numbers. Make sure to let your recipient know just in case they're expecting to see the money arrive in your name.

Yes, you can book a same-day transfer for a large number of currencies and the earlier you book your trade, the better. To make a same-day outgoing payment in EUR, USD or GBP, you will need to have your cleared funds with us by the times below (given in local UK time)

This doesn't often happen, but if your funds don't arrive within the expected timescale, then let us know as soon as possible so that we can set up an investigation with our bank. We will continue to liaise with our bank until the issue has been resolved and the beneficiary has received the funds, and we promise to keep you informed every step of the way.

Don't forget: the payment will show as coming from World First, and not your name - so keep an eye out for World First on your statement. The payment will have a reference that starts with WFPAY followed by a sequence of numbers.

To see a rate, go to 'Book a Trade'. Select the currency you wish to buy and follow the steps. You will be shown a live rate. You can choose to book the trade and add payment details or you can cancel.

Yes, you can. Simply book your trade in the usual way but change the date on the calendar to the date you need in the future. If you haven't booked a forward contract previously it is advisable to speak to your dealer first.

Use the 'Payments From Trade' option in the menu on the left-hand side of the screen when logged into World First Online. It will show you the trades you've previously booked and you will be able to choose which beneficiaries to send them to.

Yes. If you have already booked your trade, use the 'Payments From Trade' option in the menu on the left-hand side of the screen when logged into World First Online. This will allow you to add as many beneficiaries as necessary to your trade. If you haven't booked your trade, use the 'Combined Trade and Payments' option. This will allow you to add multiple payments and book a larger trade to cover all of them.

Use the 'Payments From Trade' option in the menu on the left-hand side of the screen when logged into World First Online. This will display your trades with remaining balances. You will be able to add a payment and then select which trades you want to use to fund it.

First of all, try choosing a different way of sending funds to World First. If you send funds to us by CHAPS rather than BACS, you should be given an earlier payment date. Remember that there are some currencies that we can't buy for the same day or the day after. If you are still unsure, please get in touch with your dealer.

It’s free to open an account and we don’t charge fees for receiving money. There are also no monthly charges or any transfer fees on foreign exchange transactions. If you want a same currency transfer, we offer competitive transaction costs. Please contact us for further details on those.
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There is no minimum duration for holding an account with us. If you want to close any of your accounts, please email eCommerce.France@worldfirst.com to notify us. Please note that no account is closed until you receive email confirmation from us.

We reserve the right to close accounts where it is inactive or the transaction turnover is very low over a three month period. If this happens, we'll contact you by email and you'll be given three months’ notice to resume transactions through the account, otherwise it will be closed following this notice period.

You're given online access to your accounts, so you can log in and view current balances and credits at any time. We also send balance notification emails for European and North American accounts every Monday. If you are based in the US, you will receive UK account balance notification emails every Monday and Wednesday. If you are based outside the US, you will receive UK account balance notification emails every Tuesday and Thursday.

Log in to your online account and click on 'create a new beneficiary'. These details will come through to us to verify.

Please note that we cannot pay to third parties - the account must be in your name or your company name.

There is a mandatory currency conversion, please make sure that the account is denominated in a different currency to the one you hold in your World First account. If you are unsure on any of your bank details please check them with your bank.

There should not be any additional delay and in many cases our customers report receiving funds sent by online marketplaces into their World First accounts quicker than if they were using their own domestic bank accounts to receive the funds directly from the marketplace.

The accounts are authorised to receive funds from approved online marketplaces. If you are unsure whether the marketplace you’re selling on is approved, please get in touch to speak with your account manager, who will be able to help. If you are an online marketplace who would like to be included in our list of approved marketplaces, please email our Partnership team to find out more.

World First do not provide you with a credit card or an address. Please speak to your website representative when you upload the account details we give you. They will be able to help you or direct you.